Josh D.
About me
| Josh D. | |
| Mathematics | |
| Mathematical Finance | |
| Taught Postgraduate | |
| Langwith | |
| 2020 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Quantitative Analyst | |
| Gazprom | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Finance and consultancy | |
| Medium-size business (50-249 employees) | |
| 2020 |
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A day in the life of a Quantitative Analyst in the United Kingdom
Don’t be too selective with your applications, the more applications sent, the greater your chances of getting a job. Also don’t refrain from applying if you think you’re under qualified.
Briefly describe the organisation you work for
I work for Gazprom Energy, the retail trading arm of Gazprom Marketing and Trading - the largest non-domestic gas supplier in the U.K.
What do you do?
I work as a Quantitative Forecasting Analyst. My work concentrates on researching and developing new statistical models and improving existing models in order to forecast European gas and electricity demand.
Reflecting upon your past employment and education, what led you to your current career choice?
I originally completed a BEng in Electronic Engineering at York, and then an MSc in Mathematical Finance. So much of my academic background is mathematical with work on programming and systems engineering. Aside from this, I had an internship at Rolls-Royce and Societe Generale’s private bank Kleinwort Hambros. So a career in the more technical and engineering aspects of financial markets was a natural progression.
Is your current job sector different from what you thought you would enter when you graduated?
I originally intended to enter into investment banking and had a graduate offer as a developer, however after being offered a quantitative analyst role in the Energy Finance sector, I decided to pursue a career in that domain instead.
Describe your most memorable day at work
Developing a pricing tool which reduces contract calculation time by 10,000x it’s current performance.
Are there any challenges associated with your job?
The workload is moderate to high, and because the work is project based, there is always another task to complete.
What’s your work environment and culture like?
Because I’m working in the retail division, the work culture is not high-performance like many other areas of finance. It’s very much 08:30-17:00 every day for most people. Aside from that, everyone is open, friendly, and willing to help. On the whole, the workplace is young, growing and my team is very entrepreneurial.
What extracurricular activities did you undertake at university and what transferable skills did you develop through these?
As a student I played for the University Futsal team. Aside from looking good on my CV, and a topic of discussion, it was a great way to make some great friends and connections.
What would you like to do next with your career?
I want to remain as a quantitative analyst at Gazprom and learn as much as I can technically and about the sector. After that I would consider looking to transfer to an equivalent role in another area of finance.
What top tips do you have for York students preparing for today’s job market and life after graduation?
Dedicate you time to learn skills, not knowledge. Most employers in technical domains want a solid skill set acquired from academia and previous work, you can pick the rest up on the job.
Internships internships internships.
Don’t be too selective with your applications, the more applications sent, the greater your chances of getting a job. Also don’t refrain from applying if you think you’re underqualified.
What topics from students are you happy to answer questions on?
Anything!
Next steps...
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